Hidden in the Garden
by TrinityThatcher
Summary: Kasanoda is the scariest guy in his entire school. People go out of their way to avoid him! But there must be SOMEONE who can look past his appearance to see the person inside... right?
1. Chapter 1

Kasanoda Ritsu was a first year, in the lowest class of Ouran Academy; not that he cared about class anyways, he wasn't all that interested. He was there because his family was powerful, influential, but only slightly. The world was big and his world was small, no matter how much he wished it wasn't; he lived inside the walls of a yakuza's home, and the yakuza's entire world was within Japan and the other yakuza families with all their pride and tradition. Everything he was supposed to be tapered down to the thin, sharp edge of a blade. He was supposed to inspire fear. It was what he had to do.

Everything he wanted to be surrounded that, enveloped that. His true personality wasn't something to be feared, but it wasn't the right one for what he was born to do. He knew in his heart of hearts that he didn't want to be the sharp, stinging edge of the blade, but the sturdy hilt it sat on, supporting it. The thing that foreshadowed fear, but didn't harm.  
But he was born to be the boss, the symbol of his family's power.

He had no choice, really.

He even looked the part- tall and bulky, with the kind of look you'd expect from a servant of hell; bags under his eyes, creases in his brow, a permanent frown etched against his cheeks. Even the way he spoke, in short shouting bursts, instilled terror in most. He was scary. He was supposed to be scary. People who saw him thought twice about even doing a _double take_. He had the power to make most people freeze in their step.  
This power didn't feel good to him. He knew it should have considering his resolution, but he couldn't find the reason why it would.

At first, he had resigned himself to this fate. He had decided he would be left alone until his family decided they needed a new heir. And then, even that wouldn't be his choice. Some unlucky woman would be forced into a marriage with him for the sole purpose of creating an heir, and it would be all he could do not to send her into tears at the very sight of him. He already felt bad for the poor thing.  
He would just be alone with all his family's honor and traditions. That was what he decided to do.

She was not a variable in that equation. He couldn't have guessed something like her happening.

On that day, he had decided not to go straight home like usual; he wanted to take a breather, just walk around and think by himself. And so, rather than go from the academics building to the main courtyard, he had taken a detour to the back of the school, where the walls of roses were.

The garden was calming. He loved the flowers that grew there and the heavy scent they gave off.  
The garden was quiet. Usually. For the most part, it was only the rustling of leaves, the twitter of birds, or the far off sound of murmuring conversation that disturbed the silence.  
However, he found on this particular day that there was a sound he'd never heard before, soft whimpering, coming from somewhere.  
It sounded like the whining of a sick cat, or perhaps a hungry puppy, or some other small wounded creature. It concerned him, to think that anyone could leave an animal hurt and defenseless.

The sound got a little louder near a column of blue and red roses, where an old stone gazebo stood, hedges and vines growing around it undisturbed. It had an abandoned sort of beauty to it. The sound he had been hearing seemed to originate from it, echoing off the dome roof. He approached cautiously, ready to back away if the animal was feral.

He was surprised, however, to find not an injured animal but a small girl, head buried in the silk and taffeta that covered her knees. Her head, with it's tightly braided pale hair frizzy with static, snapped up as he approached. Dry leaves crunched under his dress shoes, and he raised an eyebrow at the sight before him.  
The girl stared up at him, puffy pink eyes wide. She looked like a frightened animal, hurt and unable to move away from danger.

She swallowed back her whimpers, rubbing her nose on her cuff. "Pl-please forgive me if I disturbed you! I'm very sorry! I-I'll move-rather, I'll go, I, I'm so very sorry..."  
She made a move to stand, and he reached out to grab her shoulder. "AAAH?! Don't be stupid, sit down!"  
"Eeee!"  
She squeaked, and fell back on her rear as he pushed down on her shoulder. He immediately recoiled, realizing that he'd been unnecessarily rough with her. Not that it was any surprise, he was always this way no matter who he encountered.  
"Uh... S-sorry, I didn't mean to push you..."  
He shifted nervously on his crouched feet, rubbing the back of his neck as an awkward silence between them ensued. "It, uh... It's just, you don't have to go anywhere, you're not intruding on me or anything. Actually, technically I'm the one intruding here. So, l mean, it's okay."

They were quiet, and his eyes darted over to her small frame to asses her; she looked less like a wounded deer and more like a bashful girl, silently sizing him up.

"Uh..."  
She blinked. "It's all right, it was just an accident."  
"Oh... Okay."

This was rather strange. Normally people would be scared stiff of him by now. If this were any other person in the hallway, they'd be trembling and avoiding his terrifying gaze. This girl was staring straight at him. Her eyes kept his gaze solidly, in a way that held no malice.  
It was a strange turn from her earlier expression. It almost seemed like his presence had CALMED her.

"So... Are you okay, miss?"

"I do suppose so.""

"You... Sure?"

"Haha...It seems like you need more convincing of that than I do."

He frowned. "Uh... No, I mean, you're not afraid of me?"

She cocked her head. "That depends. Are you going to hurt me?"

"Well, of course I'm not."

"Then no."

It sounded like such a logical answer.

-

"Why are you hiding in a garden gazebo?"

The girl's expression darkened, and she rested her chin on the tops of her dress-covered knees.

"I did something that was really horrible."

He looked over his shoulder at the girl he was now seated next to, the cold shade of the stone table casting a gloomy silver pallor on her.

"My friend Haruhi invited me to go to the Host Club today. I don't really like being around a lot of people, but thought as long as I stayed with Haruhi I would be okay..."

She bit her lip in distress. "There were so many people, I couldn't go inside. I got really scared. And then these two boys came up to me, a-and they kept telling me to follow them inside, and they got really close to my face, so I panicked! I tried to get away from them but this other smaller boy yelled at me from across the room- something about cake? And then this blonde boy- he was RIGHT THERE in front of me, really really close, and he grabbed me by the chin! I don't remember what he said, but I just got so scared I-!"

She whimpered, gripping her shins and quivering as if she were in the moment again. Kasanoda frowned.

"You what?"

A soft breath. And then...

"I... I kicked him. In the stomach. W-with my knee... And then I ran away..."

She took another breath, and this one caught in her throat. "E-Everyone was staring at me! I'm sure the whole entire school hates me now. I'm so horrible. I'm the worst person there is." She blurted, her voice wavering. "I just want to hide..."

He was starting to feel sorry for this girl. She really seemed like she felt sorry for her reaction, even though to him it was completely justified. The Host Club guys did come on pretty heavy, so he wasn't surprised that there was someone who was uncomfortable with their approach. There were as many types of people as there were stars in the sky; not everyone could be up to diving headfirst into their little world.

He smirked, shaking his head. "It doesn't seem like you did anything wrong to me."

She raised her head up from her dress folds, expression perplexed. He continued, "Well, they're a service for girls, right? They're supposed to be there to make every girl that comes through their doors happy. Not every girl wants to be immediately approached; some girls are shy, y'know? If that's the best they can do, they're a pretty shoddy service. Even I can tell that much."

He chuckled to himself. "And anyways, those guys have helped me before but they've also done a lot of stupid stuff as well. Honestly, I'm glad you socked Blondie one! It serves him right for thinking he's some kind of gift to humanity, entitled to anything..."

The girl didn't look as gloomy as she had before; a nervous smile began to form on her face.  
"Come now. I'm sure he means well. Haruhi always tells me about him and the rest of them..."  
She sighed. "Although, I guess they're not going to want to befriend me now, after a first impression like that."

"Well, that's their loss."

The girl seemed surprised by his statement, and he felt his mouth twitch up into a small smile. "I don't think you're a bad person."

She sat still for a second, as if unsure how to react. And then, a warm smile spread across her face. A very genuine, kind smile.

"Thank you. That means a lot to me."

He nodded, relaxing back against the stone bench in the gazebo. "Well, you're a friend of Haruhi's, so you can't be that bad. If Haruhi is friends with you, then I'd like to be friends with you too."

The girl nodded, reaching up to straighten a braid next to her ear. "Okay. Then, I would very much like to be friends with you! So, what's your name?"

Kasanoda shifted, putting his hand out between them. "Ritsu Kasanoda. And what's your name?"

She looked up, past her fluffy bangs and thick eyelashes, and her eyes were those of someone very contented. She placed her fingers gently over his own, pushing down as if to shake his hand.

"Trinity Renee Thatcher."


	2. Chapter 2

Her name was Trinity, like the holy triad in Christian faith. That was what she said.

He would speak to her in short spurts, whenever they saw each other and she wasn't nervous. He didn't know all that much about her yet, but he chalked it up to his tenancy towards easy embarrassment and her inability to speak above a whisper in public. In all fairness, time between them didn't happen often; sometimes he saw her walking down the halls hiding her face behind her bangs, or clutching her book bag way too tightly against her chest. She looked like she was walking through a war zone, eyes shifting, jaw set, fear in her every move. He was used to seeing people in fear, but it didn't seem like it was him she was afraid of. It looked like she was just afraid of everything, every person and sudden sound and opening door within a few feet radius of her. It was so strange.

The name Renee came from her paternal aunt. Her father had been very close to her, but she lived very far away. He gave that name to Trinity to be her middle name. That was what she said.

He still wanted friends, real friends, not the squealing girls that pushed and poked at him. He wasn't trying to be rude; he liked that some girls weren't as afraid of him as they were before. He didn't really like the reason WHY they weren't afraid of him (he'd heard the phrase 'swinging for the other team' accidentally leave more than one person's lips) but they weren't purposely avoiding him anymore, and that was a small step towards a final goal.  
Still...

Her father's name was Alexander. He had arthritis in his back and laugh lines on his face. He wrote to her sometimes from Brighton. He was doing well. That was what she said.

At first, he simply thought she was a very shy individual. Shy people existed, that was a fact of life. But her shyness was intense, and it effected her greatly. She never seemed to relax unless they were somewhere low traffic. She was afraid of people, she said.  
He liked the rare times that he held conversation with her. She had a soft lilt to her voice that was easy on the ears. She liked to talk about small things, like a book she'd just read or a food she'd just eaten that she thought was delicious. And she seemed so interested in what he had to say. Most of the time, he just rambled on and on about whatever came to his head. Things about plants and what he liked to write about and some sweets he saw in a book that he wanted to try and make. She always listened, nodding with a soft and nervous smile on her face.

"You know..." she started one day as they were watching birds peck at rice in the courtyard, "after Haruhi, you're one of my first friends at this school. Do you think that's strange?"

He shrugged, focused on the birds twittering at his feet. "Eh. I guess if it was just anyone, it might be. But I don't really think it's that weird." He stopped himself, thinking over what he'd just said, and let out a soft chuckle. "Well, I'm one to talk, aren't I? I mean, up until recently, everyone was too afraid to even look at me. Even my fellas didn't talk to me much."

Trinity frowned a bit, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. "Oh, you mean your family? What do you mean, they wouldn't talk to you?"

"Um... well, let me see if I can put it right..."  
Kasanoda thought back to the days he had spent under Morinozuka's wing, and all the things he came to realize about himself as a result. "See, I've just never been really good at talking to people calmly. Sometimes I just get flustered and I have no idea what to do or say so I just- it just kinda comes out like a shout. And that scares people. It doesn't help that I'm scary lookin'."

"Hn? Scary looking? How are you scary looking?"

Kasanoda raised an eyebrow. "You serious? Look at me. My face, my posture..."

At this, she cocked her head, turning towards him. He shifted his seat on the concrete steps to face her, giving her a better look of his figure. "See?"

"Mmmmmmmmm... nope."

_Well. That was a new one._

"N-... nope?"

"What's scary about your face?"

"Uh... my... eyes?"

"They look like eyes."

"Then, I guess... my bone structure?"

"Huh? That's silly, you don't look like you have an abnormal facial structure. I wonder what mirror you're using?"

"It- okay, maybe it's my tall stature!"

"I think you're making things up now!" she laughed softly.

Kasanoda rolled his eyes, leaning back and propping himself up by the heels of his hands. "Then maybe you're the odd one."

She seemed to take this news in surprise, her eyes widening a bit. When they reverted a bit, her expression looked lost, as if she were searching her mind for a better meaning to his words.

"Hn."

She sighed, throwing her hands up level to her face as if to say 'What can you do?'. "Isn't that what I was saying, though? Anyways, one can't help the looks they're born with. You don't look like a conventional teenager, but you're not an ugly man. And more importantly, you're a really nice person."

Kasanoda blinked in surprise, trying to take it all in. Of course, any person with half-decent morals would say something to that effect, but there was something about the way she said it... he felt like he could believe her words.

Still, he didn't want to admit defeat so easily. He turned his head back forward-facing, watching the birds finish their meal. "You don't know that. You and I barely know each other. For all you know, I could be..." he smirked to himself, "like, a gangster or something."

For a moment, everything was silent. He heard the scratching of tiny nails against the concrete as the sparrows searched around for more food. His smirk faltered, amusement from his own ironic joke fading. Honestly. As if he needed reminding, now he was even reminding himself.

Suddenly, the silence was broken, the sparrows ruffling their feathers and leaping up to take flight as a soft peal of laughter echoed across the courtyard. Kasanoda jolted as well, surprised by the sudden sound.  
He turned to look at the girl, who was holding a hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter and a hand against her chest. She shook her head, making her braids sway against her shoulders.

"Oh!... Oh, no, how could you even joke like that? Honestly!" She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, rubbing at her eyes. "I haven't known you for very long, but- I couldn't see you as a gangster, I just couldn't!"

"Wh- why?"

She shrugged, an amused smile playing across her features. "When I think of gangsters, I think of scary guys with guns and brass knuckles who torture people with needles and candle wax!"

"Jeez, what have you been reading..."

"And you... you don't seem like you have a cruel enough heart for that."

Kasanoda shook his head, reaching back to run his fingers absentmindedly through his ponytail. "Not all gangsters are like that. A gang can be like a family, you know? They stick together, help each other, lean on each other..."

"Oh?"

He huffed, his hands falling to his lap again. "There's a lot you don't know, huh?"

"I must be in Japan for _some_ reason other than to look at cherry blossoms." she joked.

He raised an eyebrow, assessing her content expression from the corner of his eye. Why couldn't she be this easy-going all the time? She had a bright personality and was so easy to talk to; why did she have such a hard time when more people were involved?  
It wasn't the same as him; people were automatically afraid of him. He didn't have the charisma to simply break down that wall and gain their trust. But she was just a meek-looking girl, not threatening at all. People could trust her, people could approach her. It seemed like she was the one who put up walls.

"So I don't get it." he mumbled to himself.

"Hn?"

"You think I'm too nice to be a gangster?"

Trinity giggled softly. "I don't know a lot about gangsters, I suppose. But, I'd have never imagined a gangster being someone with a kind heart. You're the kind of person who would help injured animals and make sweets and... and sit and listen to a complete stranger talk when they're crying."

"That's because I'm human," he reasoned, "not because I'm a good guy."


End file.
